Olympic Wintergames 2026

the first days in Italy

On January 25 and 26, 2026, our first colleagues traveled to Italy to set up the Bauerfeind Service Stations. The biggest challenge was to make sure that the facilities in all six locations were equipped by the opening of the Olympic Villages on January 30, ready for athletes to be taken care of. Find out here how the Bauerfeind teams made this happen.

Milan: the perfect start

Everything worked perfectly right from the start in Milan. The products we dropped off at the entrance to the Olympic Village actually arrived in our rooms in the polyclinic. Ralph Kecke (Measurement Technology Product Manager) and Luis Ramon Molla (Bauerfeind Spain) were the first to set foot in our rooms in the clinic, and they installed the measurement technology. “In Milan, we’ll have all the equipment, from Bodytronic 410 and a grinding machine to a 3D printer,” explains Ralph Kecke. “I was particularly pleased that Luis took the time to help me set everything up,” he adds with a smile. Luis returned to Spain immediately, supporting the team with the supply of products in Milan again from February 9.

Ready to roll: The facilities were then taken over by Nathalie Preischl (left, Bauerfeind Field Sales), Mattis Hohmann (rear center, Head of Training at the Bauerfeind Academy), and Luisa Bärtig (right, Bauerfeind Sports Marketing). They organized all the products and finished equipping the rooms together. Paolo Francesco Matti (center, Bauerfeind Italy) was also a huge help. He brought them an examination bed for the treatment room.

Everything cleverly thought out in Predazzo

All went absolutely to plan in Predazzo as well, even though the facilities are smaller. Less space means most of all: working efficiently and being well-organized. 

Andreas Limbach (Head of Measurement Technology) and Alexander Lehle (Trainer at the Bauerfeind Academy) quickly got the hang of it. They even managed to watch the torch relay which went through Predazzo on January 29.

Cortina and Antholz: focusing on challenges

However, Marie Debbeler (b:joynz Product Manager), Franz Mock (Head of B2C E-Commerce), and Maximilian Poetzschner (Head of Orthopedics Product Management) didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the torch during their arrival on January 27. Since then, they’ve been trying to get into our rooms and therefore to our products. The reason being: Construction work is ongoing in the new Cortina clinic building because the plan is for it to be used for medical purposes after the Games as well.

For our team, this means: time spent waiting, patience, and a lot of organizational skills. 

It’s not just the sun that’s beaming in Antholz: As opposed to Cortina, rooms and products are available here, meaning our service is already being widely advertised.

Livigno and Bormio: space for creativity

The situation is similar in Livigno and Bormio. In Bormio, there is no lack of rooms for our services or of products but there’s simply a lack of space and shelving to organize the products. The team therefore needed to come up with some innovative solutions by the opening of the Olympic Villages on 30 January to make sure all the boxes and pallets were sorted. 

The first Livigno/Bormio Team run by Robert Cardenas (Bauerfeind Sports Marketing, right), Jörg Mildner (Medical Affairs, left), and Riccardo Bozza (Bauerfeind Italy) was supported by Ralph Kecke (center) who, after his work in Milan, went on to install all measurement systems in the north of Italy, close to the Swiss border.

Getting ready, one step at a time

Despite different challenges at the various locations, setup is going very well. Whether in large or small rooms, whether everything is available or more organizing is still needed – our teams are working with commitment, creativity, and team spirit to make sure the athletes are perfectly looked after as of this week.